Switzerland Cruise Past Algeria as Petkovic Faces Former Side

Vladimir Petkovic returned to St. Jakob-Park, but this time as Algeria's head coach — and his side couldn't spoil the reunion. Switzerland claimed a comfortable 2-0 friendly win over the North Africans, with goals from Breel Embolo and Dan Ndoye. The hosts struck early. In the 10th minute, Embolo collected a pass from Ruben Vargas inside the box and calmly slotted past Luca Zidane. Algeria tried to respond, but the Swiss defence, marshalled by Manuel Akanji and Nico Elvedi, stood firm. Early in the second half, Switzerland doubled their lead. Ndoye capitalised on a defensive misstep and fired home from close range. After that, the tempo dropped, both sides made multiple substitutions, and the scoreline remained unchanged. Petkovic, who coached Switzerland between 2014 and 2021, couldn't upset his former team. Algeria created a few chances — Farès Chaïbi tested Gregor Kobel, and Riyad Mahrez showed flashes — but they lacked a cutting edge in the final third. Switzerland lineup: Kobel — Zakaria (Widmer, 87), Elvedi, Akanji, Rodriguez — Freuler, Xhaka — Ndoye (Ebischer, 87), Manzambi (Okafor, 71), Vargas (Rieder, 70) — Embolo (Amdouni, 83). Algeria lineup: Zidane — Belghali (Boulbina, 82), Mandi, Bensebaini, Ait-Nouri — Zerrouki (Hadjam, 59), Bentaleb (Boudaoui, 71) — Mahrez (Hadj Moussa, 71), Aouar (Gouiri, 59), Chaibi — Maza. Bookings: Chaibi, Boudaoui. For Switzerland, this was a useful test ahead of competitive fixtures; for Algeria, it’s a reminder that Petkovic’s project still needs time to gel.